According to the Detroit Free Press, this will be what the Michigan throwback jersey will look like when the Wolverines host Notre Dame in the first ever night game at the Big House:
As the resident uniform connoisseur I am obliged to make some comments on this jersey, which I will do with fervor.
1.) There has been no official release from either school, but this is a sample according to the Detroit Free Press. Still, it doesn't look much like a football jersey mostly because of the curiously large sleeves.
Some astute Michigan fans have pointed out that No. 85 is the number that current UM Athletic Director David Brandon wore while he was a Wolverine, so that seems like a strong indication these could be in fact the real deal.
This jersey also pretty much is how Brian Kelly described it would be when he let the cat out of the bag during an interview with reporters a while back, so there's that information too.
2.) Some people are freaking out, but this isn't that bad of a look. Trust me, it could be so, so much worse than this.
Many thought that since Notre Dame has announced it would wear early 1960's throwbacks that Michigan would too. But if this is to be the real thing, then this jersey is probably loosely modeled after the 1891 version, which is certainly a bold (and old) concept.
An interesting factor is putting the large block "M" on the front (although the DFP article does state that there will be a small number opposite the Adidas logo on the left chest) since some of us theorized during the Notre Dame Uniform History Pictorial whether the Irish would ever wear a jersey like the original 1880's with a blue "N" and "D" on the front.
Also, if you look closely in this picture it appears they may be going with some stitching inside the block M and numbers to give the uniform more of an old-school feel, similar to what the Buffalo Sabres did with their most recent third jerseys.
The major amount of striping is a bit shocking at first, but I will bet it looks better once the players put it on over pads and with their full gear.
I honestly think many fans expected a very subdued uniform mostly because Michigan has basically never had anything but very plain jerseys, but the school might have picked the most wild one possible.
3.) For quite some time now I have been advocating Adidas use the Trefoil logo instead of their 3 Bars logo and this is the first time I've seen it done so on a major sports team's uniform, at least in the United States.
Usually the Trefoil logo is used for Adidas "Original" designs and mostly for their urban and casual clothing lines, but I've always thought it to be a superior logo than the stale 3 Bars one.
Does this mean the Trefoil will be on Notre Dame's throwbacks as well?
We can only hope.